Sorry For the Late Update. "When are you going to provide an update on the sewer letter?" "When are you going to report on the Illahee Community meeting that was held on Sunday?" "This is a travesty for the county to give us no information and ask for a response by October 2." "Is someone going to request a hearing?" "Who is going to provide us information on sewers and the costs?" "Can you give us an example of a letter and where do we send it?" These are some of the responses to the sewer letter received by some Illahee residents last week and questions that were asked on Sunday.
What to do? Many residents in Illahee received a letter on Friday (9/26/08) advising them that stormwater and sewer lines being proposed for the Timbers Edge project was being routed near them. Others who lived near the proposed sewer line did not receive the letter. And many others, who are outside of the planned sewer lines, did not receive the letter and are wondering what this update is all about.
Timely Mailing? The letters were dated September 18, 2008 but were received by Illahee residents on Friday, September 26, 2008. That means it took 9 days to get a letter from Port Orchard to Illahee.
4 Day Response Time? Moreover, the letter requests a response from those living along the storm water line and the proposed one mile path of the sewer line to respond in writing by October 2, 2008, or in 6 days (4 working days) on a subject most don't know anything about as the impacts of what is being planned was not presented.
14 Days Notice Required? It is interesting that from what we understand, a 14 day minimum notice is required. One can only wonder what happened to providing residents proper and timely notice of such an important issue as the running of stormwater and sewer lines through a community.
Notice of Major Infrastructure Plans. One would expect more than just a timely notice of a major infrastructure plans for stormwater and sewers that have long and far reaching impacts for a community. One would expect a community meeting especially for sewers where the county explains their sewer plans to the community at large.
County Sewer Studies/Plans Available. We understand the county has had consultants working on sewer plans for areas around the county and that there is an approved plan for the area, which includes Illahee. In fact, we heard the county is including it in the Illahee Community Plan as it gets ready for final approval.
Meetings Requested. The Illahee Community Club hosted a Timbers Edge update meeting on 9/28/08 and the consensus of the residents in attendance was that they wanted to know from the county just what was being planned for Illahee, not just for this development, but also what the studies and long term plans are.
State Mandate for Public Sewer Meetings? One of the residents thought there are state requirements for public meetings for these kind of major infrastructure projects. They said RCW 36.70A.140 "Comprehensive plans - Ensure public participation" requires public meetings and that the sewer plans being developed are a continuation of the Comprehensive Plan Update from last year that was sent back to Kitsap County by the Growth Management Hearings Board. They felt that with there being sewer infrastructure plans, and a planned sewer project extending a mile through Illahee, that a public meeting was required.
What to do? The often repeated question is - What do we do now? The group that just met on Sunday suggested several things.
1. Inform our County Commissioner and the Department of Community Development about the lack of adequate and timely notice, well short of the 14 day requirement. Josh Brown is our County Commissioner and his phone number is 337-7146. Larry Keaton is head of DCD and his phone number is 337-7181. Their email addresses are noted in the Cc addresses.
2. Request the county schedule a stormwater and sewer infrastructure informational meeting to provide the community with needed information so residents can make an informed decision whether another Timbers Edge hearing is needed to discuss stormwater and sewer issues related to that project. Following the informational meeting let the county send out the Timbers Edge hearing notice in a timely manner such that meets the minimum 14 day requirement.
Get Legal Advice! The Illahee Community Club has retained attorney Ryan Vancil to represent them regarding the Timbers Edge development plans. Attendees at the Sunday meeting requested that Mr. Vancil be asked as to what the community should do next on the sewer issue. We have includes him as an addressee to this update and will pass on to the community any advice he provides.
Jim Aho
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